- President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating the "State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention" designation to deter foreign governments and entities from wrongfully imprisoning U.S. citizens.
- The designation allows for severe penalties, including sanctions, visa bans and travel restrictions. It applies not only to governments but also to non-state actors controlling territory, such as the Taliban.
- Wrongful detentions are described as serious human rights violations involving fabricated charges, political motives and torture.
- The policy may lead to new travel restrictions for U.S. citizens to countries deemed high-risk for wrongful detention, similar to existing rules for North Korea.
- Advocacy groups, families of victims and former detainees praised the move as a necessary and long-overdue step to protect Americans and hold foreign actors accountable.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order establishing a new designation to deter foreign governments from using U.S. citizens as geopolitical leverage.
The executive order, titled "State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention" and signed on Sept. 5, will empower the U.S. government to impose severe penalties, including economic sanctions, visa bans and travel restrictions, on nations and entities deemed responsible for the wrongful imprisonment of Americans abroad.
According to Brighteon.AI's Enoch, the wrongful detention of Americans in other countries is a grave violation of human rights. Individuals are often unjustly imprisoned based on flimsy or fabricated evidence, driven by political or economic motives, and subjected to inhumane treatment and torture.
The new policy will apply not just to internationally recognized governments, but also to groups and entities that control significant territory. This expansion allows the designation to be used in areas like Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Officials also noted that countries or entities under consideration for the designation will be given advance notice and a window of time to reverse course before penalties are enacted.
Additionally, the executive order may lead to new travel restrictions for U.S. citizens, similar to those already in place for North Korea. Currently, Americans are banned from traveling to North Korea without a special validation passport. The new authority gives the Department of State the power to restrict travel to nations deemed high-risk for wrongful detention to protect Americans from falling victim to politically motivated arrests. (Related: Trump signs executive order mandating jail time for American flag desecration.)
No specific countries were named during the announcement, but nations such as Russia, Iran, China, Venezuela and Afghanistan are widely seen as potential targets of the new designation. All have been accused in recent years of wrongfully detaining U.S. citizens, some of whom remain behind bars.
Advocates and families praise the new executive order
Human rights advocates, families of former hostages and nonprofit organizations have applauded the newly announced executive order.
The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, established in honor of journalist James Foley, who was kidnapped and murdered by ISIS in 2014, called the executive order "a critical step forward in confronting a deeply entrenched practice that violates international norms and endangers innocent lives." The foundation then urged regimes currently holding Americans to release them before the first designations are issued.
"We urge all governments wrongfully detaining American citizens to take this moment before the first designations under this executive order are issued to immediately and unconditionally release all American captives," said the organization.
Global Reach, a nonprofit organization dedicated to securing the release of Americans held abroad, also described the new designation as a game-changer.
The family of Robert Levinson, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007, also praised the administration for taking decisive action. "Every government guilty of this barbaric conduct must understand that they will be held accountable and will pay a price backed by the full force of the United States government," they said.
Paul Whelan, a U.S. Marine veteran wrongfully imprisoned in Russia for nearly six years before being released last year, also responded to the news. He supported the initiative, but emphasized that the government's responsibility doesn't end with bringing detainees home.
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